Retailers ask for help with online crime

Could the things you buy via eBay be stolen? At a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on crime, terrorism and homeland security, retailers asked Congress to require Internet auction sites to share information on high-volume sellers. The merchants say that criminals steal large amounts of a product and then sell it online. Popular items stolen include over-the-counter drugs and personal care items from drug and grocery stores, and clothes, gift cards and electronics from other stores. The items are then resold on eBay and other sites or in local flea markets. Tim Hammonds, president and chief executive officer of the Food Marketing Institute, says that the gangs of thieves steal up to $30 billion in merchandise a year. 

The concern for consumers isn't just the ethics of buying stolen goods. Products that are temperature or safety-sensitive such as infant formula or cold medicines may not be stored properly, which could cause health risks for the buyers of these items.

One possible solution being floated is to require sellers to post the serial numbers of items for sale, much as sellers of cars post vehicle identification numbers. Experts worry however, that thieves would just make up numbers. Another idea is to make high-volume sellers offer more information about themselves such as their names, addresses and telephone numbers on product listings, but sellers are often reticent to make than type of information public. Retailers say that to them what is most important is that the auction websites work with their investigators, not just law enforcement, to help curb these crimes.